There are 2 supposed origins of the Daleks. In the
first Daleks are the mutated remains of the Kaled people of the planet Skaro,
who travel around
in tank-like mechanical casings and are bent on universal conquest and
destruction. Skaro was once home to two humanoid races: the peaceful and
scientifically-advanced Kaleds/Dals (who were described as philosophers and
teachers) and the warlike Thals. Following a short but terrible nuclear war
between the races the Dals were mutated and became the aggressive and xenophobic
Daleks.

In the second origin the Kaleds are a race of humanoid extraterrestrials who waged war on the
Thals. The Daleks originated during the Kaled-Thal War which was portrayed as a
thousand-year-long war of attrition fought with nuclear, biological and
chemical weapons with weapons becoming progressively less sophisticated as
resources became scarcer not the short nuclear exchange previously described.
It is not clear if this was the nuclear exchange between Daleks and Thals
referred to in The Daleks or an even earlier conflict.
The crippled Kaled chief scientist and evil genius Davros deemed the mutations
from the fallout irreversible and then experimented on living cells, treating
them with chemicals and accelerating the mutations to discover the eventual
mutated Kaled form and ensure its survival. The mutations
among the general Kaled populace were not as advanced as implied by the earlier
account, and that the development of the mutated creatures that became the
Daleks was engineered by Davros for his own purposes. Ultimately he used his creations to prematurely replace the
non-mutated members of his race with the Daleks.
These genetically conditioned forms were placed in Mark III travel machines
whose design was based on his own life-support chair. The tank-like travel
machines coupled with the mutants became the first Daleks.

Daleks are organisms integrated
within a tank-like or robot-like mechanical casing. The resulting creatures are
a powerful race bent on universal conquest and domination, utterly without pity,
compassion or remorse. They have had every emotion removed except hate, leaving
them with a desire to purge the Universe of all non-Dalek life. Occasionally
they are shown as experiencing fear.

Species Name: Kaled, Dalek

Type: Mutated Amoeboid

Physical Traits: The creature has an
amorphous body, slightly smaller than the man's head, and several tentacles.
See the technology section for a description of the armour.

Height: Mutant 1 ft, in armour 6ft

Weight: Mutant 20 lbs, in armour 200 lbs

Mobility: The mutant can only slide and
relies on its armour for true mobility

Technology: 10. Dalek society is one of extreme scientific and technological
advancement. However, their
reliance on logic and machinery is also a strategic weakness which they
recognise, and thus use more emotion-driven species as agents to compensate for
these shortcomings.
Externally Dalek armour resemble human-sized salt and pepper shakers with
a single mechanical eyestalk mounted on a rotating dome, an exterminator arm
containing an energy weapon and a telescopic manipulator arm
which is usually tipped by an appendage resembling a sink plunger. Daleks have
been seen to be able to use their plungers to interface with technology,
crush a man's skull by suction, measure the intelligence of a subject, and
extract information from a man's mind. Dalek casings are made of a bonded polycarbide material dubbed "dalekanium".
The lower half of a Dalek's shell is covered with hemispherical protrusions, or
Dalek bumps which are part of a sensory
array. The armour has a forcefield
that evaporates most bullets and resists most types of energy weapon; this seems
to be concentrated around the Dalek's midsection (where the mutant is located),
as normally ineffective firepower can be concentrated on the eyestalk to blind a
Dalek.

Dalek's own energy weapons have also been shown to be capable of
destroying them. Their weapons fire a beam that has electrical tendencies
is capable of propagating through water and may be a form of plasma. The
eyepiece is a Dalek's most vulnerable spot and impairing its vision often leads
to a blind, panicked firing of its weapon.
The voice of a Dalek is electronic; the Dalek creature is apparently unable to
make much more than squeaking sounds when out of its casing. Once the mutant
is removed, the casing itself can be entered and operated by humanoids.
For many years it was assumed that due to their design and gliding
motion Daleks were unable to climb stairs and that this was a simple way of
escaping them. Dalek mobility has improved over time making them to fully
capable of flight, even spaceflight.

Culture:
The Daleks are a malevolent,
truly malicious race with no redeeming qualities at all. In terms of their behaviour Daleks are extremely aggressive, and seem driven by
an instinct to attack. This instinct is so strong that Daleks have been depicted
fighting the urge to kill or even attacking when unarmed. The fundamental feature of Dalek
culture and psychology is an unquestioned belief in the superiority of the Dalek
race, and their default directive is to destroy all non-Dalek life-forms. Other
species are either to be exterminated immediately, or enslaved and then
exterminated later once they are no longer useful.
The Dalek obsession with their own superiority is illustrated by the schism
between the Renegade and Imperial Daleks: the two factions consider the other to be a
perversion despite the relatively minor differences between them. This superiority complex is the basis of the Daleks'
ruthlessness and lack of compassion. It is nearly impossible to negotiate or
reason with a Dalek, a single-mindedness that makes them dangerous and not
to be underestimated. There is mention of a
Dalek opera which was lost to posterity when the entire cast was
exterminated on the opening night.

Government: A single supreme Dalek which has
alternated between Davros and an Emperor Dalek.

Population: Has varied from billions to
just one, and then millions again.